Found this in my webcomic roundup today:
"This comic presents all the major weaknesses of this generation. We can’t work with our hands. We are dependent on our parents. We have been trained to think that we are special, unique, and wise. We whine articulately in order to defer responsibility without taking any action ourselves. We, being moral relativists, don’t believe in virtue or honor (like Dickinson).
Dickinson is the manifestation of much that we are missing and much that we are yearning for. He is an honorable and capable man. He does what is hard even when it seems hopeless.
Metaphorically speaking, Dickinson isn’t punching some jerk named Nigel. Dickinson is punching all of us. He is punching us awake."
Do I bellyache about the degeneracy of society a bit too much? Oh sure, I do, especially for the sheer relief of having vented. But the thing is, afterwards one has to do something about it. Like Cappy Cap says, you've got to have something backing up your currency. Improve your body and mind. Read books and articles. Work out. Improve your inner game. Build yourself and other people as a person. Then maybe one can start bellyaching a little more about how society is going down the drain.
Nigel doesn't have anything backing up his words, no gold behind his paper. Dickinson does.
"This comic presents all the major weaknesses of this generation. We can’t work with our hands. We are dependent on our parents. We have been trained to think that we are special, unique, and wise."
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest, this one really bothers me. You get guys like Bill Powell and Dr Illusion who are great with their hands, and then someone like myself who is fucken useless in that regard.
I also think we're missing out on something big as a result. Recently we had a blocked drain. I made an effort to unclog it by taking the pipe off myself with some tools. Because it was my first time, it took ages to do it. But eventually, I got it working and the feeling was ten times more satisfying than solving a maths equation within the confines of the cathedral.
Plumers, farmers, brick layers etc...I have enormous respect for these guys.
Time used to be that every man could fix a roof, change the oil in his car, mow a lawn, do basic wiring and plumbing, and all the other stuff that men needed to do.
DeleteTime used to be that every woman could cook a great, hearty meal, starch a man's pants until they could stand up on their own, handle five kids while putting the washing out to dry, can and preserve, and all the other stuff a woman needed to do.
Then about a hundred years ago, some folks got it into their heads that we should switch places. It's turned out since then we're not very good at each others' jobs en masse, and now we've forgotten to do everything.
Technology and extended childhood played a part, but we've all lost so much.